


The Prince and the Frog

by asteriasera



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - The Princess and the Frog (2009) Fusion, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Frogs, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Magical Accidents, Prince Lance (Voltron), Voodoo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23640121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asteriasera/pseuds/asteriasera
Summary: Lance is a prince who has been sent off to marry a rich heiress to not be exiled from his own kingdom, and there is nothing that will stop him from completing that. Keith is a man with a rough past but a hopefully bright future in front of him. All he wants to do is open his own restaurant as a gift to his late father, and there is nothing he wouldn't do to complete that dream. Both men have an end goal and are never destined to meet.Not until fate pulls them together, that is."You! You turned me into a frog!”“I swear I didn’t know that was going to be the outcome! I thought I would turn human! Why didn’t it work?!”“I’m going to kill you!”
Relationships: Allura/Lance (Voltron), Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Kudos: 35





	The Prince and the Frog

“Just in that moment, the ugly little frog looked up with his sad, round eyes and pleaded: oh please, dear princess, only a kiss from you can break this terrible spell, that was inflicted on me by a wicked witch!” Krolia read aloud as she tied a light blue ribbon around a wire dress model, the two children in the room sitting at her feet.

A six year old Allura looked up excitedly at Krolia, practically bouncing as she clutched Keith’s arm tightly. The five year old glanced at Allura curiously, blue-grey eyes training on the big dopey smile plastered all over her face. He internally snickered at how funny she looked—being a judgemental five year old and all—but said nothing as his mother continued to tell the story. 

“And the beautiful princess was so moved by his desperate plea that she stopped down...picked up the slippery creature...leaned forward...raised him to her lips, and...kissed that little frog!” Krolia said as she leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of Keith’s head, making the boy stick out his tongue in disgust. 

“Gross!”

“Awe!” Allura cooed, huffing Keith’s arm tighter. “That’s soooo romantic!”

Krolia chuckled as she stood back up, looking down at Keith fondly. She turned back to the book while taking a snip at the ribbon, cutting it short to fit the style of the dress on the mannequin. 

“Then the frog was transformed into a handsome prince! They were married, and lived happily ever after. The end.”

“Don’t you just loveeee fairy tales, Keith?” Allura asked as she hugged herself tightly, a dopey smile on her face. “Aren’t they so romantic?”

Keith scrunched up his nose in disgust. “Ew, no! A princess kissing a frog? That’s so...gross! Frogs have cooties!”

“It’s not called cooties,” Allura said snootily, “it’s called sal...sal...salmonella! My daddy told me all about it when I tried to kiss a frog last week.”

Keith furrowed his brows. “You tried to kiss a frog? Gross! Why would you ever do that?!”

“What a silly question! I would kiss one hundred frogs if it meant I ever got to marry a prince and be a princess!” Allura sighed dreamily, pressing her hands to her face tightly. “Wouldn’t you, Keith?”

“I’d rather be dead than kiss an ugly frog,” Keith deadpanned with a pout. 

Krolia let out an amused laugh as she leaned down to ruffle his hair, pulling Keith out of his seriousness and making him giggle as he attempted to swat away her hand. She eventually did lift her hand off his head, beaming down at him with twinkling eyes.

“It’s okay if you don’t like the story, but don’t take it to those extremes, Keith. Karma might come and get you to actually kiss a frog,” she teased. 

Keith huffed indignantly, crossing his arms across his chest in protest. 

“There is no way in this whole wide world that I would ever kiss a disgusting frog!”

“Would you kiss a cat?” Allura asked, looking at him curiously. 

“I’m allergic to cats.”

“Oops. I forgot,” Allura smiled sheepishly. “Would you kiss a dog? A bird? A hamster? A rat?”

“Yeah…?”

“Then you can kiss a frog!” Allura exclaimed loudly. “They’re not that different from one another at all! One’s just more slimy than the other! Come on, Keith. Wouldn’t you kiss a frog to be a prince?”

“I’d rather kiss a human than a frog,” Keith said snootily. “You’re gonna get sick from kissing frogs. Why would you ever kiss a frog just to be a princess?!”

“Because it’s romantic!” Allura squealed, throwing herself backwards on the carpet and kicking her legs around wildly. “I wanna be a princess, Keith! Have a kingdom to rule and have a prince as my husband! I would do anything to be a princess.”

“You’re weird.”

“No, you’re weird! Who wouldn’t kiss a frog to be a prince or princess?! It’s so easy!”

“Now children,” Krolia scolded, “it’s okay if you disagree, but don’t make a big deal out of it. Respect each other’s opinions and be nice to one another.”

“Are they arguing about The Frog Prince story again?” A voice called out from the doorway, tone laced with amusement. 

“Daddy!” Allura grinned brightly as she launched up and ran towards Alfor, the man wrapping his hands around Allura’s tiny ones.

“Hello, dearest daughter. What a lovely dress! Did Krolia make it for you?”

Allura nodded happily, practically beaming up at him. 

“I look like a princess!”

“That’s because you are a princess, daring,” Alfor chuckled as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, Allura giggling when she felt his beard brush the top of her head. 

Alfor smiled as he looked up at Keith, who was staring at Allura with a small glare. 

“Have you been arguing over a fairytale again, Keith?”

Keith blinked and smiled sheepishly at Alfor. “No…?”

“Yes you were,” Allura replied with a bat of her eyelashes. “You said it was weird that I would kiss a frog to be a princess. Banish him, daddy!”

“Princess, if I banished him, you’d be losing a good friend. Do you really want to lose Keith as your friend?”

Allura furrowed her brows in thought. “Well...no…”

Alfor nodded, a playful twinkle in his eyes. “That’s what I thought.” He turned around to face Krolia, who was looking at Keith with a fond smile. 

“Krolia, how did it go today? All good news, I hope.”

“Except for the frog fiasco, they were perfect,” Krolia smiled. “I even managed to finish Allura’s newest dress. Blue like every other dress she asked me to make for her.”

Alfor chuckled. “I appreciate the work, Krolia.” 

Krolia nodded before casting a gaze out the window. The sun had set a long time ago, and now the lamp posts and lights of other houses lit up the dark. She turned to Keith, a warm smile on her face. 

“Time to go, Keith. We don’t wanna get home too late and miss your dad.”

Keith immediately brightened up and walked to his mother's side, wrapping his fingers around her hand. With a quick wave goodbye to Allura, he and Krolia made their way out of the room, Keith practically bouncing from excitement at the prospect at seeing his dad again after a week of not seeing him. 

The entire ride home in the trolley, all Keith could think about was about how much he had to tell his dad. It was the same routine every other week since his dad worked at the fire station and stayed on call for a week before heading home for a couple of days. That was the time Keith truly treasured. He loved his father and he knew his mom did too. The way she would light up when talking about him made him happy, so he took care to act his best when his dad was home to make sure the smile on his mother's face wouldn’t fade. 

Once they reached their stop, mother and son hopped off the trolley and strode into the quiet little neighborhood. The houses were barely separated from one another, but just enough for some privacy. They weren’t very big either; at most, the houses were two floors, but Keith liked it that way. He knew everyone in his ‘village’ as his mother tended to call it; everyone knew everyone and enjoyed each other’s presence. No one cared how each other’s clothing looked, and the children were especially friendly. The friendly strays were also fun to hang around with, and on the days he didn’t go off to work with his mom, he would play with the puppies all day long. 

Needless to say, he loved his home. 

“Dad!” 

Heith Kogane looked up from his place at the kitchen table, stray marks of soot on his face and neck. His tired frown turned into a warm smile as Krolia and Keith came into sight, and he parted his arms for an excited Keith, who lunged at his dad with full force. 

“Hey, kiddo! How’ve you been? You seem to have gotten heavier since the last time I saw you. You haven’t been eating all those pastries I left, have you?” He asked with a teasing grin. 

Keith let out a small scoff, folding his arms across his chest. 

“ _Please_. Well, I kinda did, but I also improved the recipes,” he said, puffing his chest out proudly. 

Krolia let out a sigh, smiling tiredly. “And in doing so, almost ended up setting the house on fire. You’re your father’s son, alright. Everything he does, you do as well.”

“I put out the fires,” Heith interjected. “I don’t start them.”

“Hello?” Keith asked indignantly. “I made new and better tasting pastries! They’re very good according to Jenny from across the street.”

“Oh? You gave Jenny some?” Heith smirked. “Am I sensing romance?”

Keith let out a disgusted scowl, sticking his tongue out. 

“Gross! Girls give you cooties, dad! It’s almost as bad as kissing a frog!”

Krolia shook her head in bemusement. “Oh dear god. This again.” 

Heith wrinkled his nose. “Kissing a frog? Why would you ever do that?”

“Allura’s fairytale book says that if you kiss a frog, you can get married and be a princess. I think it’s a bunch of phoney baloney! Who would ever kiss a frog?! You’re gonna get sick and turn as green as the frog!”

Heith chuckled. “Son, you don’t turn the color of a frog if you kiss it. Did you two fight over it like you always do when you disagree?”

“Duh. I said it’s weird, then Allura said I was weird, but she’s the one who believes in magic and wishing on stars which is also a bunch of baloney! Magic isn’t real,” Keith said in disgust. 

Heith looked up at Krolia, who only shook her head at Keith’s words. He took her hand in his, making her smile. 

“Magic like what you’re thinking about doesn’t exist, but magic in love exists. It’s what brought your mom and I together.”

“It was actually a house fire,” Krolia mumbled. 

Heith shook his head, glancing at Krolia in amusement. “Magic exists in love, Keith. Magical frogs might not exist, but love does, and that’s what matters the most.”

Keith cocked his head to the side. “What about wishing on stars? That’s magic, is it?”

“Keith, you can wish on that star all you want, but it’ll only take you halfway there. You have to work to accomplish your dreams as well. That’s just how life is, son.”

Keith pursed his lips in thought. “So if I dream about opening my own restaurant, I can wish and then work on getting it?”

“Of course!” Heith laughed, reaching a hand out to ruffle Keith’s hair. “Just remember that it’s our restaurant, Keith. Not just yours.”

“Yeah!” Keith cheered, pumping his fist in the air. “We’re gonna make some good food and everyone’s gonna come from all over to taste it! Right dad?”

“Hell yes!”

“Darling, your language.”

“Of course they are!” Heith corrected, pulling Keith and Krolia in for a hug. 

Moments like those were ones Keith would treasure forever. The warm embrace of his mom and dad at the same time and the laughter shared in the kitchen and before bedtime; he loved it all. 

He never wanted it to end.

* * *

Of course, all good things must come to an eventual end. 

In the span of fifteen years, Keith had grown up, becoming a quite different person than he was when he was five. After losing his dad to what was supposed to be a simple mission of putting a regular house fire out before it turned into a massive fire that took down six houses with it, Keith could only look at fairytales in disgust. He was ten when it happened. He vividly remembered the firemen showing up on their front steps wearing sorry faces. He remembered his mother’s tears and he remembered the funeral where for once he didn’t care when Allura held his hand and hugged him. He was pretty sure it rained that day as well, to top off all cliches. 

It was also that day that he decided that he was going to work and dedicate his entire life to building that restaurant his father and he had always dreamed of opening up together. While studying in school, Keith also studied food recipes, and eventually picked up a few jobs in high school before he graduated and dedicated his entire life to working. It was always work, work, work; non stop work, not even for some time to chill and go out with old friends from his ‘village’. He was too busy for the normal things a person would do at his age and by the time he was twenty he had two part time jobs and only five hours of sleep between each shift. 

Meanwhile, Allura also grew. At the age of eight, she lost her own father to a car accident that drew some skepticism, and Keith was there to comfort her, years before she would do the same for him. She was left with a large inheritance along with her uncle Coran, who became like a second father to her as the years passed by. She retired from public schooling and was tutored at home where she learned how to be a ‘proper lady’ as she would often laugh about with Keith when they were teenagers. Before she knew it, she was twenty one, and to Keith’s bewilderment, still believed in kissing frogs and magic. 

_“Allura, it’s a frog. Frogs carry diseases. You studied this for two years, for crying out loud! You know this!”_

_“And what is your point, Keith?”_

_“...never mind.”_

Allura grew into a strong independent woman and Keith grew into a strong independent young man, who remained friends despite looking for very, very different things in life. Allura still hoped to marry a prince and become a princess—for what reason, Keith didn’t understand because _‘you’re already rich, Allura’_ — like she had as a five year old, and Keith aspired to open his restaurant in honor of his father and to give something back to his mother, who supported him through every decision he had made, even though she did chastise often for not bringing home a nice guy. 

Oh yeah. Keith had gone through a huge period of self discovery as a teenager and realized he didn’t like girls. Not in a romantic sense, of course. He cherished them as friends, especially Allura, but he was not into them romantically. It came as more of a shock to him than to those around him, though. Allura had always suspected, but supported him when he officially came out. His mother did the same as well, teasing him about how he had always thought that girls carried ‘cooties.’ 

Of course there were a select who did not accept him, but to that Keith raised a finger and ignored it. He was too busy with his two jobs to care about anything people would say, so he couldn’t really give a rats ass about what people thought. All he cared about was working, just like all Allura cared about was living her fantasy romance by marrying a prince. 

Like he said before, fifteen years had changed the two a lot, but at the same time, everything was the same as before. 

“I can’t believe you still think you’re going to get that restaurant,” Blaytz said as he stacked four plates on the tray Keith held in his arms. “Didn’t you earn eight dollars in tips this entire past week?”

“I work at more places than just here,” Keith deadpanned, shifting his weight to carry the tray. 

“Could’ve fooled me! Seems like whatever you’re doing isn’t working, though. You are _never_ going to get that restaurant, kid.”

Keith grit his teeth in annoyance, sending Blaytz, his manager, a glare. 

“Thanks. I really needed to hear that for the fifth time this week.”

“Any time!”

Keith rolled his eyes before making his way across the small shop, placing the plates in front of various customers. In a far corner, he could see his old friends chattering away, and before he could look away, Jenny caught his eye and waved. 

Keith waved back awkwardly before putting the tray back for Blaytz to place more plates on, instead grabbing a cloth and a bottle of cleaning mix to clean off the dirty tables that the earlier crowd of customers had left. 

He had barely begun to clean off the first table when the door to the restaurant burst open, revealing a bubbly Allura in her regular blue dresses and an amused Coran, who held the most recent newspaper copy in his hands. 

“Do I even want to know?” Keith asked as he led the pair to a clean table, putting down the cleaning supplies on the dirty table closest to him. 

“Oh Keith! It’s the most wonderful news!” Allura squealed, pressing her hands excitedly to her cheeks. 

“I should hope so because you look like you’re going to pass out,” Keith commented in amusement. “What’s the news?”

“Kogane!”

“Give me a minute!” Keith shouted back irritatedly. “I’m with customers!”

Allura quickly grabbed Keith by the arm, practically beaming up at him with twinkling blue eyes and a smile that stretched from eye to eye. 

“Prince Lance of Arus is coming to Altea!”

Keith looked at her in surprise. “That’s...great! How are you going to actually talk to the guy, though? You can’t exactly march up to royalty and expect them to propose on the spot, ‘Lura.”

“Oh don’t be silly, Keith!” Allura laughed. “That’s why I had the brilliant idea of throwing a fantabulous party at my house tomorrow tonight, and Coran agreed! He formally invited the prince, and he said yes. Can you believe it?! He said yes! And not only to the ball! He also agreed to stay tonight as Coran’s guest!”

“Kogane,” Blaytz called out in a warning tone, increasingly growing impatient. 

“Well, I wish you the best of luck with your uh...prince,” Keith said, taking the tray from Blaytz. “One piece of advice, though? Don’t mention frogs or magic. That tends to be controversial, you know.”

Allies narrowed her eyes. “It’s controversial to no one until it comes down to you. I would say you can try it on this prince, but he’s mine, so you’re out of luck.”

Keith let out a chuckle before placing plates of bacon and eggs with red beans in front of Coran and Allura, looking at her knowingly. 

“Believe me, I don’t want a prince. I just want enough money for my restaurant and I’ll be set for life.”

Allura let out a small sigh, poking at her food with her fork. 

“You know we could help you with that, right? My father left me enough money to help you and still be filthy rich even after helping you. I really wouldn’t mind! You’re such a dear friend–”

“I told you, I want it to be–”

“–earned and not charity,” Allura finished with a roll of her eyes. “Believe me, I know. It’s all you’ve said since you were fifteen!”

She looked down at her plate before her eyes comically widened, and Keith could practically see when the idea struck her. After years of knowing her, he knew when Allura had an idea, and if her eyes had almost jumped out of their sockets, it must have been a really good idea. 

“Coran! Have we booked any caterers?!”

“No, princess. Why do you ask?” Coran asked curiously, tilting his head to the side. 

“Good. Don’t book any,” Allura grinned brightly. She turned her head around to face Keith, who only looked at her with a puzzled expression. 

Coran raised a brow. “Pardon my questioning, but...why?” 

“Because we have one right here,” Allura smirked before pointing at Keith with a perfectly manicured finger. “Keith Kogane, I am officially dubbing you as the caterer of my party! You cannot refuse, and we will pay you a great deal of money for your wonderful service. What do you say?”

Keith stared at her with wide eyes, disbelief evident on his face. It took him a few seconds to formulate words, his mouth moving but not words coming out. He knew it was a ploy to make him accept money without it being considered charity, but _damn_ was he excited. 

Allura grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes. Party is at seven tomorrow night, and I’m going to need you to cater the entire thing! Pastries, dinner; everything is up to you! Congratulations on being elected.”

“I... _thank you_ ,” Keith finally breathed out, eyes glassy. “You don’t know how much this means to me–”

“Oh, believe me, I think I do,” Allura said with twinkling eyes. “Now! Do you think you can pass me some of those beignets that you make here? I’m going to die if I don’t have one today!”

“Why today?”

“Because I’m so excited that I could just faint!”

Keith shook his head good naturedly before making his way back to Blaytz, internally crying at the prospect of finally having enough money to pay the down payment for the building he had been eyeing for so many agonizing years. On the outside he was composed, but all he wanted to do was cry and jump and scream loudly in happiness.

He tried not to look too smug as he took the tray from Blaytz’s hands, but it was hard seeing as how the man could only stare at Keith with his jaw agape. Had Keith not hated him so much he would’ve been worried, but right now he was high on a cloud of smugness that he just really felt like gloating. 

“I’ll make sure to invite you to the grand opening.”

He ignored the way Blaytz’s mouth rapidly opened and closed and the way he was practically _fuming_ with anger, as if he were trying to find some witty comeback. Finding none, Blaytz finally settled on going back to his stove, only to cry out in dismay as he saw that his toast had completely burned. 

Keith stifled a laugh upon laying eyes on the sight before he pushed through the back doors, not even bothering to listen to Blaytz as he began to yell at him. As he stood out there in the fresh nine AM air, he looked around before letting out a cheer and jumping around like a lunatic, kicking his legs around wildly in excitement because _holy shit, he was going to get his restaurant_. He grinned so widely that he was afraid his cheeks were going to fall off but he didn’t care because after years, he was finally ready to build his own business. 

God, if his dad could see him now. 

Keith inhaled sharply before letting out a shaky breath in an attempt to compose himself, brushing off the imaginary dust on his vest. He cleared his throat before walking back into the quaint restaurant —er, cafe?— with a noticeably more pleasant look on his face than before and an unmistakable skip in his steps. 

He quickly walked over to a woman sitting quietly in the farthest corner of the store, too in the clouds to notice how peculiarly she kept looking at him and Allura’s back. 

“Good morning, ma’am. What can we get you this fine morning?”

The woman looked up at Keith with a steel gaze, observing him for a brief couple of seconds before finally answering. 

“Black coffee.”

“Would that be all?”

She turned his attention back to Allura, who seemed to be making insanely wild gestures while Coran paid attention to her with an amused smile. She chuckled lowkey to himself, the scar running from the bottom of one of her eyes to her cheek crinkling as a sinister smirk took over her features. 

“Yes. That will be all.”

Unbeknownst to Keith, who still believed that all was fine in the world because he finally had his money, things were going to be changing…and soon.

* * *

“Ah! Sendak, can you smell that fresh air?!” Lance asked, spinning around the fountain in the center of the town, an excited look crossing his features. 

“Yes, sire. However, I do suggest that we don’t spend the entire time sight seeing. We should really be heading to the Altea estate before–”

“Before what? You know, my father may have sent you with me to be my guard but I’m not helpless. I happen to have a fine sense of time management,” Lance replied snootily. 

“The last time you said that you ended up coming back from your ‘hunting trip’ five hours late and consequently were late to your own birthday ball. You, the guest of honor, was late to a ball thrown in his honor!”

“You just loveeee to hold that over my head, don’t you?”

Sendak inhaled sharply. “All I'm saying is that we should make our way to the Altea estate before they wonder where we are.”

Lance raised a brow. “You’re awfully adamant about this, aren’t you? Live a little, Sendak! We probably won’t be allowed this much freedom for another five years!”

“If you keep up the way you are working, you most likely will have this type of freedom. Your parents will not tolerate you leeching off of them—no matter how much they care about you— and will end up throwing you out to find a job or live in exile from Arus. Unless you manage to woo Miss Allura, you are going to be living on the streets by the time next year rolls around, so yes, I am adamant about us arriving in time.”

“Aw, you care about me living on the streets?” Lance asked with soft eyes. “I didn’t know you cared, Sendak! I just thought you were broody.”

 _I only care because if you’re kicked out, so am I_ , Sendak thought bitterly to himself before sending Lance a glare. 

“I insist we get going–”

“Sendak, relax! No matter what time we get there, she will accept a marriage proposal. I’m a prince, for crying out loud! Who can say no to a prince!?”

“For one, many people–“

“I can even prove it to you!”

Lance looked around before spotting a man around his age wiping down tables at a small cafe shop a few feet away. Looking to make sure that Sendak was watching, he sauntered up to the other man, clearing his throat to make his presence known. 

The man turned around, clearly confused, before his eyes landed on Lance. His brows shot up, hidden in his bangs, and his former confused look shaped into one of expectancy. 

“Hello there,” Lance crooned, swiping his beige beret off his head and holding it against his chest. “What’s your name, good looking?”

The man furrowed his brows and rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed. He shook his head and picked his piece of cloth off the table before walking back into the restaurant, mumbling something about how he wasn’t paid enough to deal with this. 

Lance narrowed his eyes and huffed indignantly before spinning around on his heel, cheeks flushed in embarrassment. He approached a nervous looking Sendak, who had his arms folded across his chest. 

“Sire, you cannot just flirt with someone in the open like that, especially with another male! People could see you–”

“Oh please!” Lance scoffed, “people here care about it way less than at Arus.”

“You could be hung for that, prince!”

“Oh, well I’ll just bail myself out–”

“With what money?! The Altea heiress is the only one with the money you would need to do that, and you are here flirting with strangers.” Sendak shook his head. “No, we must go. _Now_.”

Lance let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. But I’m getting my mother and father to take it out of your paycheck.”

Sendak stared at him with his jaw hanging shape, clearly scandalized, before clenching it shut tightly, a low growl coming out of him. He quickly followed after Lance, who had finally decided to walk on the actual sidewalk before coming to an abrupt stop.

Lance looked at the woman leaning in the alleyway next to the cafe curiously, one brow arched. 

“Hello? Can we help you, sir?”

“I believe _I_ am the one who can help you, young prince.”

Lance quirked a brow, giving her a look over. The older woman had a jagged scar running down from the bottom of her left eye to her lip, and her dark brown almost black eyes stared directly into Lance’s blue eyes. Her long dress was a dark red, almost maroon color and a black jacket covered her arms and shoulders. Her hair was combed back neatly and held in place by a black headband, and Lance felt that she could’ve passed for someone of upper class had she not been standing in an alleyway talking to strangers. 

“How do you know who I am?”

The woman chuckled, shaking her head. “Young man, I know everything; your past, your present, and your future as well.”

“Oh yeah? Prove it.”

“Well, I know you are a prince from across the sea–”

“Yeah,” Lance scoffed, “I’m not buying it. Everyone here knows I’m a prince.”

He began to walk away, only to be stopped by the woman calling out again.

“Prince Lance of Arus, you are a man from across the sea who comes in search of riches that you cannot access anymore at home.”

Lance froze in his steps, eyes widening as a shocked look overtook his cynical one that had been plastered all over his face moments before. He slowly turned around to face the woman, disbelief flashing in his eyes before his lips curled into a smile. 

“Sendak! This lady has just read my mind!”

Sendak narrowed his eyes, looking the woman up and down cynically.

“What is your name?”

“Dr. Sincline,” the woman smirked cruelly, “but most people call me Haggar. Allow me to bring you back to my shop, good men.”

“And why would we follow you?” Sendak asked, eyes still hard. 

“Because I can make your wildest dreams come true.”

Lance grabbed onto Sendak’s arm excitedly, jumping up and down like an over energetic puppy. His eyes practically gleamed, and a huge smile was spread on his lips. 

“Sendak, we have to follow her!”

“Your highness, I’m not so sure this would be such a wise idea–”

“Follow me,” Haggar said, already slipping back into the shadows of the alleyway. Lance followed after her excitedly, Sendak hesitantly walking behind him. 

The two men followed Haggar through a maze of alleyways for a solid three minutes before reaching an empty square, two large iron gates leading them to the almost abandoned area. Baby wails could be heard bouncing off the walls, and tall barren trees littered the empty courtyard. However, the gem in the middle of all the creepiness of the area was a wooden door leading to a shop, with a sign on top reading, ‘Dr. Sincline’s Voodoo Emporium.’

A shiver of excitement ran down Lance’s spine as he and Sendak were led into the shop, the door closing behind them loudly without anyone pushing it shut. Whispers could be heard throughout the shop, none of which seemed to bother Haggar. Instead, she seemed to enjoy the whispering presence in the room. The dimness of the room brought on an eerie vibe, and the various weird objects strewn about that Lance had never seen in his life only served to amplify the vibe. 

Haggar motioned for them to sit at a round table, the tablecloth a dark red color. She took a seat on the opposite side, her ever dangerous smirk still on his face. 

“Welcome, gentlemen! An apology for the disorder, but that’s how we do things in New Orleans. Now!” She clapped his hands together, “I believe I promised a way to solve your dilemma, did I not?”

Lance nodded. “Do you know how to help me?”

“Oh, do I _ever_.”

Haggar cleared her throat before laying her hands out in front of him. “You, young prince, are in danger of being exiled from your family for leeching off the riches available. Now, all you can do to be allowed back is to marry a rich young woman to avoid that exile. However,” she chuckled, “you don’t want to be married. All you want to do is live your life without any strings attached. But that freedom does come at a cost.”

“...what cost?” Lance asked cautiously, leaning a bit forward. 

“Sire–”

“Don’t interrupt, Sendak,” Lance snapped, before turning to face Honerva curiously. “What cost?”

“Wasn’t it obvious?” she scoffed. “The cost is marriage. However, you do not want to do that...and I have the answer to your dilemma.”

“What is it? I’ll do anything,” Lance said, eyes set in determination. 

“Well then, young prince,” Haggar said darkly, pulling a pendant from seemingly out of nowhere, “you will have to give me a bit of your blood.”

Lance furrowed his brows. “Blood? What will my blood do?”

“You are meeting the young Altea heiress, are you not?”

“Yes…?”

“With this blood, I can fully ensure that she will completely fall for you, giving you all the riches you desire. It’ll be your gift to her, making her fall hopelessly for you. You’ll be tied down, but free to do anything you please since she’ll be too in love with you to deny you anything you want. So what will it be, young prince?”

Lance bit his bottom lip, mulling over Honerva’s offer. If he did take it, he’d be ensured riches and the return to his home with welcome arms. If he didn’t, however...he would be jeopardizing everything. 

He finally looked up at her, nodding firmly. 

“I’ll do it.”

Haggar visibly lit up, a dangerous gleam shining in her eyes. Her lips curled into a sinister smirk, her sharp canines sticking out. The winds around him started to pick up, and an ominous chant could be heard throughout the small building. While it sent shivers down Lance and Sendak’s spine, it seemed to have no effect on Haggar. On the contrary; she seemed to enjoy the presence of the growing voices and drumming and the sudden change in air temperature of the room.

Lance felt a sinking feeling in his gut as Haggar drew the pendant closer towards him, but before he could react, the woman had already pressed the open jaw of the pendant down on his finger. He let out a sharp shout as the pain coursed through his body, a sudden doozy feeling filling him up. His mind went foggy, and all he could see was Haggar’s sinister smile and Sendak’s horrified face. All he heard was laughter; not the good kind, but the bad, and he felt a tugging sensation in his gut. 

Suddenly, he felt himself struggling to breathe, and he flailed his limbs around in an attempt to free himself from the ties—snakes? Rope? He couldn’t tell—around his torso, but it was to no avail as he felt his body be tugged in hundreds of different directions, and at that moment he resigned himself to death. 

But just as quickly as the change had started it was over, and Lance was left loose on the seat, too weak to move but still tied by whatever it was around his waist. One look around left him realizing that yes, he was alive, but one look down had him reeling because _holy shit_ , he was—

“A frog!” Sendak exclaimed, mouth hanging agape. “You’ve turned him into a frog!”

“What...what did you do?!” Lance shouted, looking up at Haggar with fear in his eyes. “This wasn’t what we talked about!”

“You fool!” she sneered. “It was never my intention to help you. I’ve wanted to see the fall of the Altean family since Alfor was alive, and you’ve just helped me see to their ultimate demise.”

“Oh yeah? How?” Lance snarked back. “You can’t exactly make her fall in love with you, you creep!”

“No, but he can.”

“What?”

Haggar let out a chuckle, turning around to face Sendak, who had shifted his attention from Lance to her. 

“Are you going to kill me?”

“If you refuse to help me, then yes,” Haggar hissed, “I will.”

Sendak narrowed his eyes. “What do you need my help with?”

Lanced gaped up at him, eyes going as wide as saucers. “What?! Sendak, you can’t help her!”

“I choose my own life over yours,” Sendak quipped back with sudden anger in his tone that Lance had never heard, making him reel back in shock.

“Sendak! I demand you–”

“He takes no orders from a frog you pathetic fool,” Haggar laughed menacingly, sneering down at Lance. “He takes orders from _me_ now.”

“ _You_ ,” Haggar continued, turning back around to face Sendak with a cruel smirk, “will wear this pendant around your neck. You will charm the heiress and once she marries you we will both profit off of all the riches and we will run the city!”

“Yes, but...how? I am no prince.”

“With this pendant, you shall be one.”

With a quick movement, Haggar was suddenly by Sendak’s side, practically breathing down his neck. Sendak tensed up once he felt the pendant be placed around his neck, the clasp making a noise as it connected together. 

All at once, Sendak turned into a thinner, shorter, young man, face a tan color and limbs suddenly long. His hair disappeared and was replaced by a shorter look and his clothes changed from their previous purple shades to a beige outfit. 

Lance could only stare at Sendak with his jaw unhinged. Disbelief was the only thing he could feel because standing directly in front of him wasn’t Sendak, but himself. 

All at once a sinking feeling made its home in his stomach and the only words he could think of were _oh shit_.

* * *

"Keith, I think it’s amazing that you’re finally getting everything you’ve ever wanted but don’t you think you should’ve had some help?” Krolia asked, looking down at the long table lined up with various silver platters of finger food. 

Keith blinked slowly, looking up at his mother with a curious gaze. “Why would I ever need help?”

“You slept for half an hour during the night before waking up and going back to getting the food ready for Allura’s ball.” She let out a small sigh and fixed Keith with a small smile. “I know everything is changing for you now but don’t you think you could be a _little_ less independent?”

“I’ve made it so far being independent that to cheat when I’m just a hop away from the finish line seems so...stupid,” Keith replied with a wrinkle of his nose. “Besides, it’s not like I need extra hands in the kitchen yet. When I get my own restaurant _then_ I’ll get extra help. Right now it’s just unnecessary.”

“Well I sure hope you get this restaurant soon because watching you act like this is going to give me a heart attack.”

Keith let out a small chuckle, leaning across the table to hug his mom. “I promise I’ll take it slow when I reach my goal. Then I’ll be able to take you on a nice vacation somewhere, just like dad dreamed of doing with you.”

“Your father also dreamed of seeing some grandkids,” Krolia deadpanned. 

He rolled his eyes, passing a plate of mini sandwiches to one of the guests that had come up to the table. “I can’t exactly give him any given my situation, mom.”

“You could adopt! There are perfectly lovely children out there that are still waiting for the perfect forever home out there.”

“Yeah, no,” Keith said with a small smile. “That sounds nice and all but I am never going to find a guy that is into me and that I am into. Most guys are too scared to ruin their social image by dating a man, much less marrying one even though there’s no law against it.”

“I won’t take that pessimistic outlook,” Krolia scolded. “You will find a nice man and you two will adopt many children and live happily ever after. You can’t take that away from me with your pessimism.”

“Yeah, okay mom.”

His attention shifted from his mother to Allura who stood by the bottom of the grand outdoor staircase. A man with long silky white hair stood there with her, his dark purple outfit matching his black shoes. He looked positively smitten with Allura but she seemed to be paying no attention to him, her eyes seeking out something far away. 

“Ms. Allura, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?” The man asked politely. 

Allura huffed impatiently, tearing her gaze away from the entrance gates of the party to the man. “What has been my answer for the last two hours, Lotor?” 

“No,” he said with his eyes downcast. “But Allura, it’s just one dance–”

“–to which I already said no,” Allura responded with a slight glare. “You know that my first dance is reserved for Prince Lance.”

Lotor opened his mouth to say something before promptly closing it. His shoulders sagged and he nodded glumly, flashing Allura a tired smile. “I understand. Sorry to have bothered you.”

A quick flash of guilt flashed across Allura’s eyes and she opened her mouth to call after him but he was gone, walking off to talk to a few other women who were eagerly waiting for him.

She frowned and walked over towards Keith, fanning herself with her fan nervously. “Was I too harsh?”

Keith grimaced in response. “Do you want the honest truth or the sugar coated truth?”

“Honest.”

“Then yeah, you were _way_ too harsh on him.”

Allura let out a small groan, her shoulders sagging and her lips forming a small pout. “I feel so bad telling him off but I want my first dance to be special. I’ve waited years to meet my Prince Charming and that is not Lotor.”

“Allura dear, I’m well aware this Prince Lance is, well...a prince,” Krolia said with a small frown, “but does that mean he’s your Prince Charming?”

“I’ve wanted to marry a prince my whole life, Krolia! He _has_ to be my Prince Charming.”

“Well your ‘Prince Charming’ is late,” Keith said with a raised brow. 

“Royalty is never late, Keith. Everyone else is simply early.”

“Lotor was here early,” Krolia continued with a purse of her lips. “Now that I think about it, I don’t think he’s ever been late to any of your parties. He’s always the last to leave, too.”

“That’s because he works for me,” Allura deadpanned. “He has to be here early.”

“He’s _extremely_ smitten with you,” Keith teased Allura with a small grin. “Are you sure you aren’t at least a little bit interested in him?”

“Not the slightest. My Prince Charming is Prince Lance, _not_ Lotor Sincline. And who cares if he’s late? I’ve waited fifteen years for him; I can wait a little longer.”

Keith shook his head before casting his gaze to the opening gates only to have his eyes grow to the size of saucers and his jaw go agape. Standing in the front of the gate was the same man who had tried to hit on him earlier although this time he looked more regal...or like a prince. 

Keith internally slapped himself. Of course he hadn’t realized that the freaking _Prince of Arus_ had been flirting with him earlier on and _of course_ he had ignored him like an idiot. Well, not like an idiot. This was Allura’s prince after all, no matter how much Keith disagreed with her choice. The prince seemed like too much of a playboy and his flirting earlier only proved to Keith that he wasn’t that serious about Allura. 

Nonetheless he wasn’t going to ruin Allura’s lifelong dream. “Allura, don’t look now but I think Prince Charming finally arrived.”

Allura’s neck immediately swiveled around and she let out a loud gasp. “Coran! The lights!”

“Of course, Princess!”

Two bright lights lit up and trained themselves on the prince who wore a dazzling smile on his lips. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, all the way from the Kingdom of Arus...Prince Lance!”

He walked in with the confidence that most men wished they had with an aura that reeked of high class and privilege around him. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch him make his way to Allura who was standing at the bottom of the staircase, eagerly awaiting for him to reach her. 

Out of the corner of his eyes Keith saw how Lotor’s smile crumbled and was replaced by a small frown. He then watched as the man excused himself, making his way to what Keith could only assume was the bathroom. A feeling of pity bloomed in his chest upon seeing him leave but he didn’t chase after him, determined to be supportive of Allura. 

This was wrong. Allura didn’t deserve to be married to a playboy who flirted with whoever he found and Lotor didn’t deserve to watch the woman he had loved for six years be waltzed into a stupor by a prince who she had known for a record of exactly two minutes and fifteen seconds. 

_Princesses don’t marry kitchen boys_ , Lotor had told him once when they were seventeen. Keith has desperately hoped that it wasn’t true but tonight just proved Lotor right, and unfairly so. 

“You look pensive,” Krolia commented with a small frown. “Something wrong?”

Keith let out a small sigh and shook his head. “Nothing. Just realized how unfair life can be sometimes for others.”

“Keith Kogane?” A voice piped up from Keith’s left. 

Keith turned his attention to the small man who stood next to him dressed in a suit and tie, round glasses perched at the tip of his nose. 

“That’s me. Can I help you with something? A plate of beignets? They’re a house specialty.”

“No, I am not here for food,” the man said flatly. “I’m here to inform you that the money you offered was simply not enough for the building you wanted to buy.”

Keith visibly paled, his brows scrunching up in concern. “What do you mean it wasn’t enough? It was the exact same as the price listed in the paper for the last five years!”

“The company felt that the price was simply too low and that it should be raised, so it was...by several hundreds of dollars. Unless you can pay that money by tomorrow then it goes back on the market and believe me, many _capable_ people will want it.”

“What do you mean by capable?” Keith asked suspiciously. “Are you insinuating–”

“Listen, I’m just the messenger who was told to speak to you as quickly as possible and, well, here you are catering Allura Altea’s party. If you ask me you’re better off here than owning and running your own restaurant. I don’t think you’ll ever be able to do it.”

“Excuse me?” Keith and Krolia both said indignantly.

“Remember, money tomorrow or you can kiss that place goodbye. Have a wonderful evening,” the man finished with a tip of his hat and a cruel smirk. He then walked away from the table, leaving a fuming Krolia and Keith behind. 

“Now wait just a minute!” Keith shouted, moving his way down the table in an attempt to run after the man. “You can’t just say things like that and–!”

In that moment his foot caught in the long string decorative tull that adorned the table and he fell down, but not before taking most of the silver platters and the entire table cloth down with him. He fell to the ground on his stomach with a thud, the expensive silverware that belonged to Allura’s family falling to the ground with a loud clatter. Keith couldn’t see anything from his position with the table cloth over his head but he heard the clamor of the guests and almost immediately the sounds of heels making their way towards him. 

“Oh no! What on earth happened?!”

Keith felt when the tablecloth was lifted off his head before he saw Allura hovering above him, looking down at him in pure concern.

“Keith are you alright? Are you hurt?”

He wanted to say something but the heaviness in his heart didn’t allow him to do that. So he just shook his head and looked around at the food that had cost him hours to make and perfect and strewn about the ground, the tears threatening to escape his eyes. His white button down shirt was all stained in various different places with a variety of colors and he was pretty sure the fabric around his knees was busted. He looked pathetic and he knew it. 

“I just...I don’t…”

“Oh Keith,” Allura said sympathetically, her lips forming a small frown. She glanced back in the direction where the prince stood and flashed him a placid smile, waving at him. “Prince Lance, I’ll be with you as soon as possible! Please try some of the delicious pastries still on the table. Oh and Krolia? I’m going to borrow him for _just_ a second.”

She then helped Keith up and patted his shoulder quickly before ushering him up the stairs, smiling brightly. “It’s okay, Keith. I have just the right outfit for you.”

* * *

“Oh Keith, you should have seen the day he danced with me!” Allura said dreamily, sprawled on her bed on her back. “It completely made up for his lack of time management skills. Do you know he was late because he was tending to a few princely duties he had to finish before the party? It’s a completely valid excuse.”

She let out a small sigh, her smile slightly slipping as she stared up at the ceiling above her bed. “At least...I think it is. I really like this prince, Keith. He’s a sweetheart and compliments me a lot…”

She closed her eyes and punched the empty spot on the bed with her fist angrily. “Stupid complex feelings. They are a curse, I’m telling you!”

She continued grumbling to herself as she sat up, adjusting the straps on her well-fitted blue dress before turning around to face the bathroom door that connected to her room.

“How are you doing Keith? Does it fit?”

Keith only unlocked the door and stepped out of the bathroom slowly, his head bowed and eyes downcast. His previous white shirt and torn black pants were gone, replaced instead by a cherry red vest and new black pants. A black shirt was under the vest buttoned up to the top button. He looked elegant, but only on the outside. Inwardly, he looked and felt like pure shit. 

“Oh Keith,” Allura said in awe, “you look like such a lady killer. Not that that’s your preferred audience, anyways. You could sweep up any man off the streets with how handsome you look.”

She smiled brightly, getting up to fetch a hair tie off her desk. She then moved behind Keith and tied up his hair into a low ponytail before letting it rest gently against the nape of his neck. 

“There. Now you truly look like a prince.”

Keith only looked up at her with tired eyes and flashed her a half-hearted smile. “Thank you, Allura. Always looking out for me.”

“That’s what sisters are for aren’t they?” She said with a wink. 

He let out a forced chuckle before looking out her open balcony window, the laughter from the party filtering into the blue room. 

“You know what? You should go back down there.”

Allura’s smile melted into a frown. “Are you sure? I wanted to talk to you about what happened.”

“Nothing major happened,” Keith lied. “I just tripped trying to reach a guest and brought the whole table down with me. That’s it.”

“But you looked so upset…”

“Wouldn’t you be if you fell on your face in front of hundreds of people?” Keith deadpanned. 

“Fair point.” She let out a sigh, taking his hands and squeezing them gently. “Are you sure you want me to go back down?”

“Yes,” he said with a small smile. “Your Prince Charming is waiting for you downstairs. Don’t make him wait and go have fun.”

Allura smiled at him and hugged him tightly before letting go and squeezing his hands once again. “I’ll be outside if you need anything and remember, you can stay up here as long as you need.”

She then ran towards the door, a big smile on her lips as she did so. The door opened and closed and in the blink of an eye she was gone, her footsteps resounding through the big hallways. 

Keith’s smile fell and he let out a heavy sigh. He sat down on the seat in front of Allura’s vanity, staring at himself through the mirror. The man in front of him looked so worn down and the only thing Keith would do was groan before letting his head hit the top of the vanity with a thud. 

“I’m never going to win, am I?” 

Of course he wasn’t. Everyone and their mother knew that Keith was gay and most of them didn’t care. So why the hell was the company that was selling him the building so goddamn homophobic? It wasn’t like the food was going to be gay! (Then again the people would think the food _was_ gay because it would have more flavor than the average food sold at the savorless places that were all around town.)

The homophobia didn’t hurt as much as the insinuation that he wasn’t fit to run a restaurant, though. That was what had stung like a bitch because Keith had not worked hard for so many years to be told he couldn’t do it. What the man had told him was so cruel that it genuinely hurt him down to his very core. 

Everything he had worked for had gone to shit within minutes. Meanwhile Allura had her dream prince who Keith didn’t really like but was pretending to like just for Allura. It was hard to support her, though, on that dream since she had still believed that kissing a frog would turn him into a prince when he had last asked a couple of months ago. Oh and the fact that Keith knew that Allura harbored a soft spot for Lotor and that Lotor was in love with her. To Keith it seemed more like she was so willing to marry a prince because she didn’t want to give up on her childhood dream. 

Lucky her. She had basically accomplished her childhood dream of marrying a prince because he was ninety-nine percent sure the prince was going to propose to her before tomorrow. But him?

“I’m ruined,” he mumbled to himself as he looked up at his reflection in the mirror. 

He got up and walked out onto the balcony, leaning on it and looking down at the party. He easily spotted Allura in her elegant baby blue dress that contrasted well with her dark skin and the prince with his white suit adorned with golden buttons and a medal pinned to his top. 

“Ugh,” Keith said with a wrinkle of his nose. “Why is her life so...perfect? It’s so perfect she still believes in the stupid kissing a frog magic!”

He let his hands hang over the edge of the balcony, his eyes focused on his mom who was talking to Coran. Ah shit. She had probably told him all about the homophonic jackass. Well, there was nothing he could do. 

He heard movement come from his right and he instinctively looked down, only to be met with a frog staring up at him with blue eyes. 

“Oh for crying out loud!” Keith shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. “What kind of sick joke is this? A frog?”

Keith swore the frog glared at him and before he could comment on it the frog opened its mouth and said, “Do you think I’m _happy_ being a frog?! No! I am not!”

Keith instinctively let out a bloodcurdling scream and stumbled backwards into Allura’s room because _holy shit a fucking frog just talked to him_. He didn’t know much about nature because he hadn’t studied that but he was pretty sure frogs weren’t supposed to _fucking_ talk! 

He stumbled backwards into the bookcase that was full of various textbooks and average reading books, all different kinds of books falling to the ground loudly. The entire upper row of stuffed animals fell down on Keith’s head and he grabbed onto a giraffe’s neck with his right hand and grabbed a biology textbook in his left hand. His heart was pounding in his chest and all he could do was let out another scream as the frog hopped down from the balcony and into the room towards him. 

“You...you need to stay back!”

“Woah, hey! Listen, I promise that I can explain!” The frog said, defensively putting his hands in front of him. 

Keith’s only response was to throw the giraffe at him. It hit the frog square in his chest and he stumbled backwards with a small grunt. He then jumped around with a sheer look of panic as Keith threw a mix of books and stuffed animals at him, begging for him to stop. 

“Oh yeah? Then what are you? A chinchilla?! Frogs don’t talk!” 

“I’m not a frog!” The frog said with a grunt as he finally made his way up onto the vanity, standing on his back two legs with his hands out defensively in front of him. “I swear I can explain so if you could just put the book down–”

“I’m not going to be fooled by a talking frog!” Keith shouted, bringing that book down. “I will kill you right here and–”

“I am Prince Lance of Arus you dimwit!”

Keith’s hands went limp at that and the book fell next to Lance with a clatter. His eyes narrowed suspiciously and he glared down at the frog, looking him up and down. 

“I’m hallucinating. I must be hallucinating because there’s no way a frog can talk and claim that he’s the _freaking_ Prince of Arus!” He proceeded to pinch himself before gasping loudly, eyes flying wide open and training on Lance. “Shit. I’m _not_ hallucinating?!”

“No, you’re not,” Lance replied crossly with a small glare. “I am Prince Lance of Arus and that man down there dancing with your friend? He’s an imposter!”

“You’re joking. I am not going to believe a talking frog–”

“Look would you just listen?!” Lance exclaimed impatiently. “The man down there? He has a pendant under his shirt that was given to him by a voodoo lady which lets him look like–”

Keith’s skepticism suddenly disappeared and instead he shook his head, staring down at Lance disappointedly. “Okay now I believe your tale. Only foreigners and the rich are stupid enough to believe and fall for voodoo. You fall into both categories.”

“Anyways,” Lance continued with a pointed look, “the voodoo lady gave him a pendant that lets him look like me and in turn I got changed into a frog. This whole thing has been the biggest disappointment of my life you know. I didn’t expect to be treated this way by you people.”

“Yeah, well it only happens to those who fall into the voodoo woman’s trap,” Keith replied with a glare before shaking his head. “Whatever. I don’t care about your stupidity! I care more about Allura.”

Lance perked up at that, smiling widely. ”Ah, the Altea heiress! She’s very lucky to be picked by me to be my future bride.”

“She won’t _be_ your bride if she marries that imposter down there,” Keith hissed lowly, pointing out the window. “You need to fix this. You need to go back to the voodoo man and do whatever it takes to revert you back!”

“And just exactly _how_ do you suppose I do that?”

“Bribe him or something; I don’t know! But whatever you do you need to make it fast because Allura can’t marry whoever this fake prince is!”

Lance let out a scoff. “Yeah no, I don’t think bribery will work. You see, I was sort of supposed to be imprisoned by him at this moment but I escaped to look for help.”

“So you decided to come to the place where your imposter is?” Keith asked sassily with his hands placed on his hips. “How stupid can you be?”

“Hey, watch the tone! I may be a frog but I am still a prince.”

Keith let out a scoff at that. “Typical stuck up prince.”

“Look, I just need your help okay? That’s it! Then you and I can go our separate ways and we won’t ever have to be in the same room ever again.”

“Look, I’d like to help you only because Allura’s entire future depends on it but I don’t deal with voodoo. I’ve never touched it in my twenty years on earth and I am not going to start now, especially when I don’t know what the side effects will be on me.”

“All you have to do is kiss me! It’s not that hard!”

Keith’s eyes narrowed and he put his hands up on the table, pulling his face down by various inches to stare at Lance incredulously. 

“You are joking. You have to be joking. Do I look like the kind of person that kisses frogs?!”

“Well I’d honestly be concerned if you’ve kissed one before me,” Lance mumbled quietly before looking at Keith with a grin. “It means nothing! A simple kiss from you can revert me back into a human and then I can take legal action against the voodoo man.”

Keith only glared at him, still unmoved. 

“Do you not want the best for Allura?” Lance egged on, staring directly into Keith’s eyes. “Don’t you want her to get her happily ever after with me? For her to be happy?”

Keith’s glare softened and he looked away. 

“All it takes is a kiss. One single kiss and then you’re free!” 

When Lance saw that Keith refused to look at him he folded his arms across his chest and pretended to look down at one of his hands. 

“I can also give you enough money for whatever it is you desire. I do happen to come from a fabulously wealthy family because, well, I _am_ a prince. Doesn’t that sound nice?” 

Keith’s eyes finally shifted up from the ground to his reflection in the mirror. He saw himself as a weary man who looked so much older than he was supposed to with a worn down face and eyes with black bags under them. He had worked so hard for years and his money still wasn’t enough. Maybe, just _maybe_ accepting some money now was a wise idea.

He turned and looked at Lance with a face full of uncertainty, the frog looking up at him with a bored expression. 

“Just one kiss?”

“Just one,” Lance said before edging forward with a smirk. “Unless you beg for more.”

Keith grimaced harshly at that, the contents of his dinner threatening to come up and out of his mouth. 

_Just one kiss. One kiss that Allura will never find out about and one kiss that will make everything right. Just one kiss._

He inhaled sharply and squeezed his eyes shut before leaning forward and pressing his puckered up lips against Lance’s. He heard noises that sounded like small bells around him and just as suddenly as they had appeared they were gone and the contact with Lance’s lips was gone as well.

When he finally opened his eyes he was confused to find himself down on the ground covered in another piece of cloth. For a moment he thought time had reversed and that he was still down under that tablecloth downstairs but then he heard a horrified “quiznack” that he recognized as Lance and he quickly tried to move out of the cloth. 

He escaped the cloth and was shocked to find himself down on the ground with Lance peering down at him from the top of the vanity, still looking very much like a frog. “What the hell happened? Why aren’t you human? And why am I down–holy shit!”

Keith let out a scream when he realized that his ‘hand’ was now green and slimy. He jumped up onto the vanity with all his force and tackled Lance, pinning him down with his right hand in a fist. 

“You! You turned me into a frog!”

“I swear I didn’t know that was going to be the outcome!” Lance cried out. “I thought I would turn human! Why didn’t it work?!”

“I’m going to kill you!” Keith shouted, but before he could land a punch Lance pushed him off of him with his feet and jumped on the rocking horse next to the vanity. 

The two men could only watch in horror as a book that had been clinging on for dear life on the rocking horse was launched into the air and out of the room. It flew past the balcony and landed on the dance floor below, immediately eliciting loud whispers from the guests below. 

“Ms. Altea, is that your Frog Prince book?” Lotor’s voice filtered upwards. 

“I think it is,” came the response from the woman. There was a pause before she spoke again, this time with an edge to her tone. “I am so sorry to leave you once again, Prince Lance but this is something I must investigate.”

“Oh please, Ms. Altea. It is quite alright with me,” the voice of the ‘prince’ said, making Lance sneer in disgust. 

“Stupid Sendak. He doesn’t even sound like me at all!”

“Would you shut up?!” Keith hissed. “We’re screwed if they come up here and catch us looking like frogs!”

“Lotor, would you mind accompanying me upstairs?”

Keith let out a whimper before turning his head around to glare at Lance, the man shrugging and flashing him a nervous smile. 

“Oops?”

“We need to find somewhere to hide.” Keith hopped down from the vanity and made his way onto the balcony, Lance following after him. 

The two sat on the edge of the balcony, Lance looking at the door while Keith tried to look down at the party floor, trying desperately to figure out how they could escape without being seen by anyone. 

“Are you sure it came from your room?”

“It was my book, Lotor. It must’ve come from my room but I don’t understand how.”

“Was anyone in there?”

“Only Keith when I brought him up here to change out of his dirty outfit but I don’t think he’d throw a book out of my room, no matter how much he hates it.”

Lance turned to grin at Keith. “Your name is _Keith_? Really?”

“You’re a prince? Really?”

Lance’s grin slipped and turned into a scowl. “Can you maybe hurry up? I’m pretty sure they’re a few seconds from busting down the door.”

“It’s locked.”

“That’s odd. Keith wouldn’t do that...unless...Keith, did you bring someone into the room with you?” Allura called out. 

“No one down at that party would have snuck their way into a room with him. Something else is going on.”

Keith let out a groan at that while Lance silently cackled, the whole situation comical to him. 

The sound of the door being kicked open shut him up and he dragged Keith to the corner of the balcony where nobody could see them. When Keith tried to talk Lance covered his mouth with his hand, eliciting sounds of protest from Keith. 

“Your room has a...strange aesthetic to it.”

“Everything is trashed!” Allura cried out. “My books are all over the place! My stuffed animal collection is a disaster! Who did this?!”

“Why is there slime all over your vanity?” Lotor asked curiously. “You don’t happen to have a pet frog in here, do you? I hear they’re nasty slimy creatures.”

“No, I don’t. Keith would end our friendship if he found out I had a frog. Do you know he doesn’t believe in kissing–”

“The trail leads out to your balcony,” Lotor cut her off, walking down her room onto the balcony. 

He looked out curiously at the balcony, scanning it with his eyes before turning to move back inside. But before he could walk back into the room he sneezed into his elbow. 

“Bless you.”

Lotor’s head immediately swiveled to his right and he came face to face with Lance and Keith, Lance’s jaw dropped and Keith’s hand slapping his face. 

Lotor paled and his eyes went as wide as saucers. His mouth moved but no words came out, and Keith looked at him almost apologetically before grabbing onto Lance’s arm tightly. 

“And that’s our cue to leave!”

He pulled Lance off of the balcony with him, the other frog screaming his head off while Keith focused on the balloons next to the grand staircase. They fell on top of them before sliding off, Lance continuing to scream before being abruptly cut off by Keith shouting at him to shut up.

“Hang on!” Keith ordered him to do which Lance obliged, all too happy to let go of Keith to hold onto something else. 

“The frogs! Stop the frogs!” Lotor called out from the top of the balcony, Allura standing next to him. 

Immediately a crowd of people began looking around for the frogs. Lotor and Allura disappeared from the balcony, presumably to make their way downstairs. It was pure chaos until a woman screamed when she finally caught sight of them. Everyone immediately turned their attention to where she was pointing, Keith and Lance staring at everyone red handed before Lance flashed them a nervous smile. 

“Blue! Get the frogs!” Allura called out from the top of the staircase. 

Immediately a dog stopped chewing on the bits of food that had been left from the fiasco earlier and her eyes narrowed in on the frogs. She let out a growl before racing her way over towards them, Lance’s eyes widening comically. 

“I don’t want to sound rude here but hurry up!”

Keith quickly untied the single balloon from its group and they quickly went up into the sky, Blue just missing them by a few seconds. Many others tried to race up the stairs to catch them but failed, Lance and Keith climbing further up the balloon strand in hopes that they wouldn’t be caught. 

As they approached Allura and Lotor, a gust of wind suddenly appeared and they were pulled up quickly, too quickly for either Allura or Lotor to grab into them. But they weren’t pulled away quickly enough before Keith managed to cry out, “Allura! Lotor! It’s me, Keith!”

Allura’s eyes went as wide as saucers and Lotor’s jaw unhinged, comically falling wide open. 

“ _Keith_?!”

The wind picked up once again and they flew out of range, passing over the guests and into the woods while Keith tried to process what had happened in those few minutes. 

“I’m a frog. I’m a _fucking_ frog!”

“You know if you’re going to let every little thing bother you, it’s going to be a very long night!” 

Unbeknownst to them the ‘Prince’ had watched the whole debacle unfold and had promptly run out of the party. He ran through the paved path that led to a house hidden within the forest and quickly locked himself inside, breathing heavily. 

Before he could make his way to the jar that he had encased Lance in he was stopped by Haggar who looked positively ready to kill him. 

“You let him escape?!”

“He found a way to fool me into thinking he was asphyxiating! I am not to be blamed for his cunningness!”

“What are we doing to do without his blood, Sendak? Has that occurred to you?!” Haggar inhaled sharply before yanking the pendant off of his neck. Sendak immediately reverted back to his true form, growing in height and in muscle within seconds. 

“If we don’t get him back we have no way of ensuring that you will be able to transform when it is time for your wedding!” Honerva hissed, clenching the pendant tightly in her hands. “We need to get him back!”

“How? He could be all the way across town by now.”

Haggar glared at him sharply before throwing the pendant back at him, Sendak catching it with ease. She turned away from him and clasped her hands together tightly, a smirk forming over her face as she stared out the window into the now rainy night. 

“Don’t worry about that, pet. You keep wearing the pendant and get her to marry you as soon as possible.” She chuckled darkly, her eyes flashing black when the thunder struck. 

“I have this all under control.”

**Author's Note:**

> My sister pushed me to finally publish this fic so here you go! Updates will not be frequent but will happen. I enjoyed writing this first part and I hope you guys enjoy reading it! Kudos and feedback are greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading! <3


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